In article ,
Prof Wonmug wrote:

We have a couple of wooden gates. The latches keep bnreakiong because
the gates were badly designed so that all of the force of closing is
borne by the latch. I would appreciate suggetsions for how to modify
the gate to add some sort of "stop" to take the force off the latch.

....snip...

One idea I had was to nail a length of 1/2" x 1/2" stock
vertically onto the frame. The problem is that the gate will then not
close fully. In addition to having to shim the latch, I will get grief
from SWMBO because it doesn't align.

Another idea I had was to make a threshold with a stop similar to the
idea above. The stop could be outside the frame, which would allow the
gate to close fully. The downside to this is (a) the clearance and (b)
it will be something to trip over.

Another idea is to fasten small "fingers" on the back side of the gate
(parallel with the latch). I was thinking one at the top and one at
the bottom. Maybe one in the middle. The downside of this is it is
unattractive and they would be prone to stabbing someone.

My last idea is to fasten a piece of 1x5 to the front of the
latch-side frame with about 1" protruding into the opening for the
gate to bang against. This is minimally obtrusive and not likely to
snag anyone.

Is there a better way?

My thoughts (but please don't take this as gospel!)

Is it necessary that the gate be latched closed, or merely that it stay
closed? If the latter, perhaps a self-closing hinge of some sort--I'd
probably choose a double-direction one if it were me--would be an ideal
answer. No latch, no banging, no nothing. Lee Valley has such a
"Double-Acting Hinge" in their Gate Hardware section.

If that won't work, I might be tempted to see about introducing some
sort of buffer material in the hinges; a thin piece of leather, say,
glued to one of the leaves. If it's in the middle of the hinge, I don't
think it would tend to rip them off/apart all that much, and if sized
right, it could provide some added dampening for the latch.

Another possibility might be a different style of latch, one that
requires manual intervention to activate. One old design uses an offset
vertical rod on the gate and a ring held captive in a handle-like piece
on the post. To latch, the ring is lifted and slipped over the vertical
rod of the gate, encircling it and the bit on the post. Another
possibility is some kind of a trough arrangement that hinges down from
the post over the top of the gate.

Of the ideas you posted, I think the doorstop ones (whether one built
into the ground or a stop plank added on to the post) are the most
practical. The stop plank may tend to work loose from the post or split
and break from the banging of the gate if not sufficiently well sized or
attached.

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot